Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra Lutris Nereis)

By: Patrick Muller

The Southern Sea otter is a member of the weasel family and also the smallest marine mammal in North America. They can grow up to 4 feet and be 50 pounds for females and 70 pounds for males. The range of the Southern Sea Otter stretches from San Mateo County in the North down to around Santa Barbara in the South. Southern Sea Otters make their homes in kelp forests where they will use the kelp by draping it over their bodies to keep from floating away. Next, Sea Otters in general are a very important keystone species. Sea Otters live in kelp forests and sea urchins eat kelp. Sea Otters eat sea urchins. Without Sea Otters sea urchins would take over the kelp forest and ruin the habitat for many different species. Sea Otters play a huge role in our ecosystem and we need them to continue to do so and that is why their conservation is so important.

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At one point in time sea otter populations were between hundreds of thousands to around a million before fur trappers killed a large number of them in the 1700’s and 1800’s for their largely sought after fur. Sea Otters stretched all the way from Japan and the Pacific Rim all the way down to Baja California. After the fur trappers killed off most of the Sea Otters all that remained was a group of about 50 individuals near Big Sur. Since the discovery of the Big Sur population the numbers of the otters have been rising and now sit around 3000 individuals Ranging from San Mateo County to Santa Barbara.

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           Sea Otters were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1977 for two reasons. The first reason had to do with the small population and limited distribution as they were only found in Big Sur. The second reason had to do with the possibility of an oil spill in the area that could ruin the habitat and wipe out the population. Today, one of the biggest concerns surrounding Sea Otter Conservation is bites from white sharks. White sharks will see otters on the surface and swim up and bite to investigate. When they realize they do not want to eat it they will leave the otter with a bite that is extremely dangerous and in some cases fatal.

            The recovery plan for the Southern Sea Otter was released on February 24, 2003. It included six threats and recommended recovery actions for those threats. The six threats are restriction of range due to management zone, disease, incidental take in fishing gear, oil spills, contaminants, and intentional take. The recovery action for these threats include evaluating the translocation program, analyzing data about disease in sea otters along with stress levels, evaluate sea otter mortality rates and also look at commercial fisheries to see what numbers are like in incidental take, to assess the probability of oil spills and have plans in place if one occurs, and to analyze and to try and protect otters from intentional take.

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   We all play a role in helping animals that are endangered. We need to get educated and to help get the word out so other people can be educated as well. There are agencies all over the place trying to educate and help with the conservation of these amazing animals and they all deserve our help to keep Sea Otters on our earth. 

List of References 

http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/030403.pdf

http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=157

http://oceanlink.island.net/biodiversity/otter/otter.html

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animal-guide/marine-mammals/southern-sea-otter

http://www.defenders.org/sea-otter/basic-facts